Lunch at Donsard

N18°09.598'
E104°55.241'

Putting lunch together after the inventory work at Donsard (see Donsard and More Red Lines). We were about 15 people, and I remember we all ate on the floor in a big room where the individual dishes were spread out on a split rattan mat. We were given a little styrofoam plate (such as shown above), but no utensils. Food was delicious, albeit a bit messy for someone not accustomed to eating with his hands. [NOTE: There were no napkins, either. Once you were finished eating, you just walked back to the kitchen and washed your hands and face].

More Red Lines

N18°08.604'
E104°55.584' 

Still life from Donsard, Laos (see Donsard) as we are getting all of the equipment sorted out to run inventory transects. Compasses, clipboards, tally sheets, and the knotted red transect rope used to correct for slope and layout the plot (see Thin Red Line).

Donsard

N18°09.598'
E104°55.241' 

After the training workshop (see Training in Lak Sao), we traveled down a bumpy road for about 45 minutes to the village of Donsard where we practiced running rattan inventory transects in a nearby tract of forest. The steep karst pinnacles surrounding the village were breathtaking. [NOTE: Fortunately, there was good forest about a kilometer from the village and we didn't have to do any steep climbing].